The team to watch in 4A East is.........Taylor County. I know there will be snickers and some gasps but Dudley will win there.

 

I'm not sure I would label them as a team to watch, but their road is much easier with the loss of Boyle and Lex Cath.

In every sport other than Football and Track, SW and BG are in the same District/Region, so they have to compete against one another. In track, BG a SW rarely run against each other due in part to BG not competing in as many track events as they used to and also due to just differences in meets each team chooses to compete in.

 

A large part of Football schedules are predetermined do to the Districts they reside. Seeing as how BG is 5A and SW is 4A, they will never meet during District play unless South moves up or BG moves down (Everyone please refrain from making this a discussion about school size....). Obviously there are still openings on the schedule that SW could schedule BG, and I anticipate they will in the coming years. But SW has done an excellent job building a Strong Football program,ms learned a lot from the mishaps of their predecessors (Greenwood).

 

1)SW did not field a Varsity team their first year.

2)SW has slowly scheduled a more difficult schedule every year.

 

When Greenwood was built, they did not do either of these things, and it did tremendous damage to their football program for years to come... One might say that they are STILL trying to overcome those years of being stigmatized as a Non-Football school. Yes they have had a year or two here and there of success, but I don't think anybody in Warren County would consider them a Football Powerhouse. They took beating after beating from BGHS, and it killed team morale as well as hurt them in terms of building interest in their program (Building interest makes more kids want to come out and play. It also motivates athletes to WANT to move into your school district).

 

When SW was established, Coach Nelson (Former Greenwood Coach) was all too familiar with these issues. He made wise decisions about the Football program, and the moves that need to be made to ensure it's longevity as well as its relevance in the State.... IMO none of these decisions can be questioned (That includes not playing BG) due to the rapid success of the program. And I think that will be reaffirmed this year when they move to 4A.

 

All that being said.... I would LOVE to see these two teams play! I think it would be a GREAT GAME! And this would be a perfect year for it to happen because BGs Seniors and SWs Seniors last played each in the State Semi Finals at Murray State in the 8th Grade where BG won.... So it would almost be like a rematch of that game.

 

In Conclusion, I wish both programs nothing but the best this year, and hope to see them BOTH in the State Championship!

 

I've noted this before, but let's be fair on the Greenwood-South Warren comparison - a decent amount of that was not their choice and they were not afforded many of the circumstances that worked to South Warren's benefit. I do think the decision to not field varsity was indeed a lesson that was learned from Greenwood. The Gators did not exactly play a murderer's row that first year when they started in 2A, but they also didn't have the benefit of a single home game. But they had no choice of what to do in year 2 when they were thrown into 3A and a district that included Franklin-Simpson, Warren Central, Bowling Green, and Owensboro, when every single one of those programs were at the peak of their powers. And they were stuck in that pressure cooker all the way through 1996 (minus Franklin-Simpson which dropped in class in 1995). There were four classes at the time and Greenwood was immediately big - they had no choice but to jump in. I don't know where they'd have fallen had there been six classes, but they wouldn't have been with all of those teams for certain. South Warren had the benefit of staying out of the orbit of those types of killer programs for the first four years of varsity play. And in the four class system, Greenwood was on a more level playing field enrollment-wise, whereas South Warren enjoyed a sizable enrollment advantage (yes, it's a valid discussion point in this context), and will continue to enjoy one until around 2019 (albeit a more modest one). Greenwood did gain a stigma, but it wasn't really one I think they could have avoided, and they didn't have a choice in playing Bowling Green until they were well along the road. Plus, it has to be noted, that the last year the two were district mates prior to 2011 (in 1996), Greenwood had the closest result they've ever had, losing only 25-21. By 1996 they had beaten both Warren East and Warren Central, and made the playoffs in a tough district. Nearly knocked off Owensboro during that time as well.

 

From the sounds of things, South Warren had an opportunity to schedule during this cycle and declined. They'll only have one more opportunity to do so (in two years) before it will be forced upon them by the next alignment. You may disagree, but I see a viable need at that point in doing so and I think they would have benefited from doing so this time around. It's good to play good competition. Yes, it can be demoralizing if you build it up too much, but that's up to the staff to not let that happen. And quite frankly I think South Warren needs to see Bowling Green in a head to head scenario before they're forced into playing them in-district. Do it when there's no real risk other than a loss, before it's the threat of a district loss that will put them behind the 8-ball.

 

BTW, noting how good the game would have been this year - I agree. I see a lot of irony in the missed opportunities that have come from some teams choosing not to schedule Bowling Green. In 2009 when Greenwood and Bowling Green couldn't get it scheduled, Greenwood had arguably their greatest team in school history. That was a team that was going to be great whether they played Bowling Green or not as they'd been building to that class, and they missed what ultimately may have been their best shot to beat the Purples. I think this is the year South Warren has been building to and will likely be the best team that they will have in the past and coming years. I know the current freshmen crop have performed well, but the classes around them have not enjoyed the same success (in contrast with Bowling Green's incredible success at those levels), and this team and possibly next year (but certainly this year) would probably have been their real shot.

Edited July 7, 201511 yr by DragonFire

Wow! Great posts by DT and DFire! Makes me wish there was football this Friday night!

I'm not sure I would label them as a team to watch, but their road is much easier with the loss of Boyle and Lex Cath.

 

I agree that is why I say they are a team to watch. 4A east is definitely the place to be, I think Taylor will be able to show improvement in that side of 4A.

I would not be surprised to see Taylor thrive under Hilton...but I strongly doubt we see them move mountains this soon.

I think Taylor can compete for 2nd and host Knox/Rock/Wayne in the playoffs, but I think their seasons ends there in 2015.

It's another world in 4A compared to what they have been able to play in 3A. It will be a short postseason for South Warren.

It's another world in 4A compared to what they have been able to play in 3A. It will be a short postseason for South Warren.

 

I completely disagree... They returned every starter from both sides of the ball except 2 players. this will be the year SW makes it to the State Championship...

South Warren Spartans are ready for FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS!

They look ready to defend a soccer penalty kick. Guarding the jewels.

They look ready to defend a soccer penalty kick. Guarding the jewels.

 

Hadn't noticed that... Lol! Funny!

I don't see South beating JH in their first game in moving up. i feel like JH is just to disciplined and fast. But don't let this first game be the judge, both teams will keep tricks up their sleeves to not give away everything for the playoffs. I see them going 9-1, maybe 8-2 just because I've always have had that feeling about warren central playing hometown teams.

I don't see South beating JH in their first game in moving up. i feel like JH is just to disciplined and fast. But don't let this first game be the judge, both teams will keep tricks up their sleeves to not give away everything for the playoffs. I see them going 9-1, maybe 8-2 just because I've always have had that feeling about warren central playing hometown teams.

 

I completely disagree... I believe the more disciplined team is the SW team that returns every starter but two who graduated. How can JH be considered the more disciplined team when the barely finished the season at 500 last year and lost their BEST player for the year due to being expelled from school? Those are not signs of a "Disciplined" team or a team primed to win anything.... I am just stating the obvious. I hope it is a great game, but SW will win this one easily due to a stifling defense and a loaded team full of experienced leaders.

I completely disagree... I believe the more disciplined team is the SW team that returns every starter but two who graduated. How can JH be considered the more disciplined team when the barely finished the season at 500 last year and lost their BEST player for the year due to being expelled from school? Those are not signs of a "Disciplined" team or a team primed to win anything.... I am just stating the obvious. I hope it is a great game, but SW will win this one easily due to a stifling defense and a loaded team full of experienced leaders.

I understand south have people coming back, so yes, they have the experience. Discipline wise, I'm talking about being able to handle tough situations at critical parts of the game as they've been able to do many times over the last few years. I myself have heard of a few off the field problems for JH in the past, but yet they somehow find a way to get around that on the field... That's just how it's been for a few years. I feel as if SW has a stronger and more experienced team; but their discipline to get it done in tough situations has been hasn't been the best. Last year, JH was down. But from watching their JV and how've they've competed with BG, they have some talent that should show about a game or two in. Honestly I think you're crazy for saying this will be an easy win for the Spartans though, itll be a tough win for whoever wins.

I guess we will see on Saturday!